Category Archives: The Crosshairs

A stock moves in the direction of the major indices (e.g. DOW, S&P, NASDAQ, etc) or, at the very least, is supported by their momentum unless there is some corresponding news event that causes the stock to move in the opposite direction.

I have four time frames that I use when making a decision to trade: the WEEKLY “War Zone”, the DAILY “Terrain”, and two INTRADAY “Deployment” charts (89 and 144 minute). The war zone chart gives me a broad picture of what a stock is likely to do for the next several weeks to months; the terrain chart for the next several days to weeks, and the 89/144 deployment charts the next several hours to days. By “deployment” I mean the chart wherein a crosshair has formed. Obviously, the 89 and 144 minute charts are used much more frequently than the others to enter a trade due to the shorter time period but the DAILY and even the WEEKLY (though very rare) can also be used as deployment charts.

These posts will not be a “brag” time nor will they portray my style of trading as a fail safe, get rich quick system (because it is not). There will no discussion on my percentage gains or losses, on how much money was made or lost, how many winners in a row I have had, etc. etc. because none of these things matter to you and have nothing to do with your success or failure. My trading record is worthless to another trader. What does matter is the concepts behind the CROSSHAIR and how they can be used in any style of trading, whether mine or yours or another. Get the concepts and you get the CROSSHAIR.

For anyone who has been trading for a fair amount of time you know that the market rarely provides trend trading opportunities like these but when they end the corrections can be steep and volatile. My indicators alert me to a possible trend reversal-or at least an extended consolidation- when there has been no crossing of enemy lines after 18 consecutive trading days. Combine this with a need to test a support level on the WEEKLY chart and you have a pullback level of between 945 and 880, with the strongest support around the 50 TANKS area on the WEEKLY chart at the 905 level (the CROSSHAIRS PULLBACK LINE-also known as the Battle Exit Line-ON THE DAILY).

Contrary to popular opinion, trade exits are more important than trade entries, especially as it relates to when to take a loss. I certainly do not claim to have THE answer, I just know what works for me and what works for me is a visual line indicating when I should exit a trade.

Waiting for one pattern to repeat itself over and over again allows THE CROSSHAIRS TRADER to remain focused. Just as a SNIPER must remain focused on the enemy in order to survive, the trader must remain focused on the trading battlefield or there will be no more fighting.

The CROSSHAIRS formula is very simple actually but has taken several years to develop and is a direct result of my need to reign in my emotions and develop my patience, both of which all traders must ultimately deal with in order to become successful.

I developed my formula for taking quick profits using my highly probable CROSSHAIRS set up because 1) I do not wish to day trade for small profits multiple times a day but prefer to look for quick profits on bigger charts multiple times a week; 2) I do not wish to confront all the psychological issues when trying to hit a home run with each trade; 3) I know that my set up will provide me multiple opportunities every week without me having to worry about when I can trade again; 4) I would rather bank small profits 90% of the time then try to make huge profits 50% of the time.